NW Highlands meet?

[spanner]

Zzippy,

 

Just to entice you, Gordon Harrison is a local photgrapher with lots of nice images on his site :

 

http://www.gordon-c-harrison.co.uk

 

He took some pictures of our house, picture no59:

 

http://www.gordon-c-harrison.co.uk/lochewe3.htm

 

Ray-UK and oLLy from Kayak Fishing UK are interseted as well, so lets see if we can pick some dates.

 

I'd try and make it September as the weather will be more reliable, probably ......

 

The week from Aug 27th to Sept 3rd is available but that is still the school hols in England isn't it, so that might not be suitable. After that its into the second half of September, would that be more suitable folks?

[SpeciMan]

Nice photography.

 

Are there common skate inshore here?

 

Which species are usually around early September?

[spanner]

There used to be regular catches of skate from right infront of my house (200 to 250ft depth) back in the 60's .... but that was before the scallop dredgers destroyed the sea-bed :mad:

 

A female was seen dropping eggs in shallow water two years ago so I believe that are back, but nobody fishes for them. Exploring that potential was one of the reasons I wanted a boat ....

 

There is a charter boat works out of Gairloch and he does catch skate, but doesn't do it very often as most of his clients are tourists and don't have the time/patience to sit and wait. I know his marks and one is just over a mile offshore 2miles paddling from a launch point. +300ft of water in the Minch ... not to be taken lightly

 

All the fishing I have done up there so far has been from the shore, with mixed results, lots of fish but mostly small. This is me only just starting to explore with the yak but I'm hoping it will lead to better things.

 

The mackerel will still be around then. Rough ground should hold cod, ling, saithe, pollack, wrasse, maybe conger Cleaner ground should have the usual flatties, codling, and there are haddock around.

 

There is potential for bass, spurdog, tope, rays including cuckoo, asnd lots of others but I have yet to suss out what and where. Thats where you guys come in

[SpeciMan]

Looks like there is great potential up there Spanner. I'm interested.

[Zzippy]

Hi Spanner

I just looked at my work Rota and am off on the 20th till the 24th of September,I can put in for 2 days holiday on the 25th and 26th which will give me 6 days

I have been on the phone to Specimen and he is intrested.

I will be able to confirm near the end of the month.Should give me time to talk the missis round

The photo's look excellent,looks like the place has gone back in time.

Next year I think I will have to take the familly up that way for 2 weeks camping.

Zzippy

[spanner]

Zzippy,

 

Oops, I should have been more specific on my 'second half of September', the week from 17th to 24th is the one confirmed booking I have, so it can't be that week. Sorry. I also have a potential booking from 3rd to 17th.

 

So we have Aug 27th to Sept 3rd, or any time after Sept 24th. The earlier the better for fish and weather.

 

I'd rather plan on keeping it from Sat-Sat if we can as that is the normal booking period. If I don't actually get any other bookings we can spread over, but I don't want to plan on straddling a weekend just now as it means potentially giving up another weeks booking.

[spanner]

I just got an email from somebody who caught 2 bass on a plug at one of my local rock marks

 

The first I have heard of locally but it proves they are there.

 

Oh and he saw a basker

[Simon Everett]

There are god numbers of bass off the outer isles - Islay through to N. Uist. I don't know about Harris & lewis, but they do get big numbers fo seatrout in the sealochs. Bass are now also caught right around the north of Scotland - Durness to Scrabster, Kyle of Tongue is a good spot. Shallow, so warm when the tide comes in over the heated sands.

 

I am up that way early October - Islay - but haven't sorted dates for the Cape Wrath jobs yet. Maybe your dates will prompt them! Firm something up between you lot and I'll try and fit in.

 

Cheers,

Simon.

[spanner]

The only bass I have caught were along the top in January I know plenty are caught from Durness and down a bit, plenty in the Hebrides, so there was every reason for them to be there. I have been trying for a couple of years locally with no joy, so its nice to hear of them. I think they will be caught in increasing numbers now as they are becoming more prolific further north.

[spanner]

OK guys, anyone got any preferences on dates, either Aug27th to Sept3rd or Sept24th to Oct1st.

 

If neither of these will work it can be later in Oct but it'll be getting chilly by then.....